Why you should consider getting a generator. Many appointed lawmakers are going to face election. Sandra Fish wants your political flyers, keep her with a ready supply.
This is part of the reason why I'm working on a generator (converting it to run on LP and/or NG).
The article linked at bottom details some of the results from a Governor Polis-ordered Public Utilities Commission (PUC) review of Xcel's decision to cut power to parts of its grid up near Boulder during an unusually high wind storm.
The meeting included not only Xcel, but a chance for public comment and involvement by local government officials.
I don't think much was decided here, as hinted at by the list of questions near article's end (and this was also motivated by a warning from the PUC's lawyer to not get too far into Xcel's upcoming wildfire mitigation plan--recall that the PUC is akin to a court and the commissioners are like judges so speaking too much now might be like having your judge opine about your case prior to your day in court).
What caught my eye was the following quote by a PUC Commissioner Tom Plant, quoted from the article: “This is sort of the new normal, we’re seeing, you know, increased events like this and also heightened wildfire risks.”
I think I might disagree about seeing increased events like this and heightened wildfire risks if Commissioner Plant is alluding here to this being some sort of climate change related issue.
I think there are increased risks because there are more houses up there. I think there are increased risks due to the age of the equipment. I'm still not 100% convinced that somehow climate change is driving more fires up there or making for more windy days. Climate is not weather.
The quote also caught my eye because of the double meaning in the phrase "new normal". It wouldn't surprise me if Xcel, after being blamed and sued by a lot of Marshall Fire victims will start shutting down power up there.
In, to borrow a phrase heard too many times during COVID, an abundance of caution.
Put this next to the likelihood of grid instability during our glorious transition to renewables and you now know why it is I'm working on that generator.
https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/16/xcel-power-shut-off-wind-colorado/
A lot of those appointed lawmakers are going to face election, though as incumbents they likely hold an advantage.
Back at the start of the legislative session, the Sun ran an article, linked first below, about how (quoting), "nearly a quarter of the 100 state lawmakers serving in the Colorado General Assembly this year will have at some point been appointed to a legislative seat by a vacancy committee."
Many of those appointees are going to face an actual, you know, election soon. While I'm not much of an expert, this presents both a problem and an opportunity in my view.
I say problem because incumbents generally tend to fare better in elections.
I say opportunity because when someone is appointed they tend to be appointed by the most ardent (strident?) members of that party and may or may not necessarily represent what a more diverse electorate would be willing to vote for.
Some of that is detailed in the second Sun article linked below. If you are deeply interested in seeing details on those races among others, it's worth a read.
If you live in one of the districts where someone was appointed, consider your vote carefully. Encourage those around you to do the same.
I don't think that (in some of the districts) there is even the remote possibility of shifting the politics, but getting your voice out there, telling friends and neighbors about the extremists that were appointed, might help make the difference between a normal human and a fire breather representing you in the legislature.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/01/25/colorado-legislature-vacancy-committee-2023/
https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/15/colorado-legislative-primary/
Sandra Fish wants your political flyers, keep her with a ready supply.
Towards the tail end of the Sun article I referenced in the prior post, you'll notice a solicitation for people to send in campaign messages.
I put a link to that article below for convenience's sake, but the relevant bit I attached as a screenshot.
Efforts like these always pique my curiosity, partly because I've seen lots of databases and etc. that proport to be a run down on politics but which really end up being a catalog of bad things those rascally conservatives are doing.
I clicked on the link embedded in the story and that led to the webpage linked second below. I poked around in there and in keeping with the above, I was not terribly surprised to see that most of what was on that first page was conservative and Republican campaign flyers.
I mean, this is the Sun (and Sandra Fish) after all.
In an effort to be fair I thought I would ask some questions. After all, it should be remembered that these flyers are not chosen at random. Someone (someone esp who reads the Sun and/or Ms. Fish) has to take time out of their day to scan and send this along. Right there you have cleaved off a goodly proportion of the population and narrowed the group of potential senders.
That is, there can be the appearance of bias even without that being the intention. I emailed Ms. Fish with the following initial questions.
1. Are you hearing from anyone who has flyers about Democrat or liberal causes?
2. Are you undertaking any efforts to try and balance your Follow the Message site out?
To which she responded:
"I’m definitely seeking out info from the D side, but thus far, the biggest things on the radar here are the four GOP congressional primaries, where there is considerable outside money spent thus far. Most of the activity on the D side is at the legislative level. If you have info about that, let me know. And you might want to scroll through past info there… because in past years there has been a lot of stuff about the Ds."
I did look at prior years and there is more of a balance than on the page you get to through the Sun's link. Whether or not it's fully balanced, is harder to say. I'm not even going to pretend that I had time for a fuller look; it is fair and enough for this post to note that it is not entirely about Republicans and conservatives.
I had a couple of follow ups on that first email and the first was to try and dig down to get more detail on what seeking info on Democrats and/or liberals meant specifically.
The response was "Posting on social media, reaching out to people who’ve sent things in the past, publicizing in the newsletter I write for."
Second was to see who was funding this effort or providing any in-kind help. Ms. Fish said:
"This is my own project, something I first did in New Mexico, and I use it to write news stories and for people to see what the tenor of competitive contests is."
More than anything else, you know what I hope you take away from this post? I hope you take away that opportunities like this exist. Databases and etc. that proport to list campaign information need input from both sides of the spectrum.
I can't speak for every effort in this direction, but I would take it on faith (and we have no reason to doubt) that Ms. Fish is fair and would post everything she receives.
Give her lots of things about Democrats and Progressives to post. Her email is in both links. Send the pictures of those flyers in!
https://coloradosun.com/2024/05/15/colorado-legislative-primary/
https://ftm.copolitics.co/